Posts Tagged "Monday’s Magical Moments"

One of my favorite parts of the Disney experience was very unexpected: the parades. I absolutely loved them everywhere we went. The music and the enthusiasm of the characters combine to make a more than memorable event. With all of the people in the crowds I somehow seemed to get tons of pictures with the characters looking “right at me” …they are so into what is going on around them…playing their parts and not just waving to a crowd.

After two weeks off I’m back to share some of my favorite Magical Moments with Disney!

The very first thing we did at Disney last spring was to take our kids to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where they were properly “Princessed” and “Knighted” for our adventure. They were so adorable and all of the cast members around Walt Disney World played along: they greeted SuperGirl with a bow and a “Hello, Princess” … and random strangers graciously commented to her on how adorable she was.

We returned to our room mid-afternoon so I could get ready for the first of many amazing Disney Social Media Mom events; I spent maybe 15 minutes getting ready and when I looked over to the bed… this is what I found:

The 2012 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration was held at the Yacht Club. Our first night we attended a “Swashbuckler’s Soiree” on the beach. This was our first night at Disney World, and the first sunset I witness there…and it was breathtaking. Magic rings from every corner of this place. It is simply beautiful.

The back side of the Yacht Club Resort, taken from the beach in front of the Beach Club.

I mentioned last week that during our visit to Walt Disney World last spring we decided to extend our visit by a day. There were many factors but the main one… the reason I insisted that we could not leave yet… was the SuperGirl had not yet had the opportunity to meet Cinderella. She was so patient all week long and we met so many other characters…. but I promised her that we would meet her very favorite one before we left.

So on the rainy morning when I headed into the Magic Kingdom all by myself with three kids in tow…. we met Cinderella. And it was worth every penny…every minute spent to see her so very happy.

This photo was taken by one of the Walt Disney World photographers. We had the opportunity to use the Photo Pass service during our trip and I highly suggest if you are visiting that you use the service as well!

The day before we were scheduled to leave Walt Disney World Resorts this spring, SuperDad and I decided to extend our stay by one more day. On that final morning I ventured into the Magic Kingdom with all three SuperKids….by myself.

We had a really nice time. The kids were well behaved … mostly…and I only screamed at one bully on the tram…and then I made up for it by passing on some magic to a nice man who helped us out with our giant stroller…..but that is a story for another day.

The whole time we were at Disney the kids looked longingly at the giant balloons that vendors were selling. They begged and pleaded for a balloon. We kept telling them we would get one before we left. That last morning…in the Magic Kingdom all by myself…was the time to get them.

It was also windy and it started to rain while we were there that morning. No biggee….we survived.

But then we got the giant balloons.

I very explicitly told the SuperKids to stop goofing around with those balloons. I told them that if they popped one of those TEN DOLLAR balloons that I would not be replacing it…they would be out of luck.

SuperBoy was the only one who listened. He held his balloon very carefully. He did not goof around.

As we approached the exit of the park, not 10 minutes after purchasing the balloons, a gust of wind caught his balloon and knocked it into the side of a building…and it popped.

He tried to hold it together. He tried to look at the positive (the Mickey ears inside the balloon had not popped….to his dismay they were not filled with helium, however), he tried not to melt down…. but there were huge, enormous, gigantic, overwhelming tears brewing in his little eyes.

I wanted so badly to turn around and buy him another balloon…. but the vendor was nowhere in sight and I had JUST told them I would not do that.

It broke.my.heart.

We walked towards the turn styles and as the cast member at the gate was telling us goodbye she caught a look at SuperBoy and stopped in her tracks. After hearing what had happened and seeing his little face trying desperately to hold it together, Lindsay from Davis CA asked me if I could spare 5 minutes.

She got her supervisor to cover her spot and ran back into the park looking for the vendor. When she returned with an exact replica of the popped balloon I wanted to kiss her.

It was not until this moment that I got the full, unabridged extent of Disney’s dedication to “Magical Moments”.

You see…. he wasn’t just a kid with a popped balloon. He was a kid who had been struggling with his behaviors for months… struggling with meltdowns and “end of the world” reactions to everything that seemed to go wrong for him….and in this one instant…he managed to hold it together. He was practicing what we had been working on in a VERY tough situation….and then he was granted a kindness by this Disney cast member. She had no idea of all of those intricacies…she was just sure that a child should not be leaving Walt Disney World looking that unhappy.